We are
by StrawberrySab
Summary: REPOST - Based on obsolete spoilers. Alicia and Peter have to deal with a new and unexpected challenge.


**AUTHOR'S NOTE: In a moment of recklessness I decided to repost here the A/P stories that I had posted a while ago on a separate account. **

**I ship A/W. I will always ship A/W. **

**But my love for writing and vidding goes beyond any shipping preference. So here they are. If this makes me less appreciated as an A/W writer, it's your loss and not mine. If this makes you appreciate me more, I can only be happy about it. **

**For those who had reviewed my stories on the other account, thank you again.**

* * *

Alicia kept staring at the little piece of plastic in front of her. Sitting on the border of the bathroom's tube in her old house, she had been fixing those two pink lines for a good five minutes. One was more marked than the other, which was barely visible. For a moment she had thought that maybe her eyes were just playing tricks on her. But after reading the drug facts three times, she had yielded before the facts. No. There was no doubt. Marked or not. Red, light pink or purple, two lines only meant one thing.

Inwards, she was conflicted whether to laugh or cry.

She was 44. No mentally sane woman would go through a pregnancy at her age. To stay on the optimistic side, she could have a miscarriage or give birth prematurely. The pessimistic side… well, that just scared her to death. Birth defects, her own life at risk, just to mention the physical ones.

Not to mention, would she have the physical and psychological strength to raise another child? The diapers and breastfeeding days were only a vague memory. Zach was about to go to college and Grace was starting to go through her first teenager's love pains. Where exactly did a baby fit into all of this?

And her career… that same career she had given up so many years before for the same exact reason? Babies needs mothers who are there physically, not only in spirit. What would happen to her career? She had worked hard over the last few years to reach the place where she stood now. The thought that she might have to sacrifice everything again…

Alicia shook her head and took her face in her hands. How did it happen? Oh, wait. She knew how it happened. Thanksgiving, her mother and her mother-in-law, Owen and Peter, the subtle (actually not so subtle) barbs and bickering. And the wine, definitely too much time to survive the day. And definitely too long since the last time she had sex, long enough to forget about that apparently insignificant thing called birth control.

What was she supposed to do now? And most important, what impact would it have on the whole family? How would the kids take it? What would they think of having a little sister or brother? If Zach was about to leave, Grace still needed a lot of attention. Actually she needed more now that she seemed to be a bit absent-minded and troubled.

And Peter? With the campaign in full swing for his run for Governor, he couldn't certainly jump off the train now. She knew how important it was for him, she could never allow him to renounce for this.

She couldn't. She just couldn't do it. There were so many cons that she just couldn't force herself to turn upside-down the lives of all the people who most cared for her.

So many cons, yes… but…

Was it completely wrong in the end? _Everything happens for a reason_.

Why did this happen, alcohol aside?

Her marriage had been in a sort of limbo since Peter's arrest. Damn, it had been years. Between lukewarm attempts at reconciliation, all the unsaid things between them, the separation… Did they ever tried, but _really_ tried to give their marriage another try? Because even the last three weeks, after what happened at the end of the Thanksgiving day, they had been carefully studying each other's reactions but never really going to the heart of the matter. What did they want? What did _she_ want? Because Peter had always been very clear. He had been waiting patiently till she would find out alone what her heart really wanted.

She remembered a conversation they had years before and smiled at such turn of the events, so many years later…

_Everything happens for a reason_. These words echoed in her mind again.

She stood up and walked shakily to the living room. Her legs, her whole body actually, were still trembling in shock.

In the kitchen, Peter was quietly consuming his breakfast while reading the newspaper. He looked up as soon as he heard her light steps.

"Good morning," Peter's said with a light smile. He seemed in a good mood and Alicia had no idea if this piece of news would make it better or worse.

"Good morning," Alicia said with a faltering voice, as she moved to sit in front of him. She sighed deeply and looked down. "We need to talk," she said with a faint voice.

She caught Peter's face clouding a bit. What did he think in that moment?

"Sure… about what?" He asked, gravely.

"I… I…" How could she even start to drop such a bomb? Then she reminded that old conversation again. "Do you remember… years ago… when we discussed if it was opportune and necessary to have another child?" She said with some hesitancy.

Peter looked at her, in clear and complete confusion. "I think… yes…" He said, puzzled. "Why… why are we talking about this now?"

Why were they talking about it? "Because… we are about to find it out…" she whispered, biting her lips nervously. How would he take it? Would he understand what she meant in the first place?

She glanced at him, between guilty, ashamed and terrified. She saw him open his mouth, trying to say something, his words being eating by… by what? Shock? Surprise? Anger? Fear? Joy? For a moment she couldn't read him. Till he slowly stood up. Not a word. Nothing. He just got close to her and stopped few inches away. She raised her head to meet his gaze.

"I…" He started, but stopped immediately. "You… we… are we…?" He didn't finish the sentence. Those few nervous words were enough.

"We are," Alicia confirmed with a hinted, shy smile.

Peter's face changed. From the initial shock to an insecure smile, to a hearty, joyful laugh. He shook his head, probably in disbelief that it was really happening, before leaning down to hold her in a tight, warm embrace. "We are…" He repeated.

Alicia drew a little back to see his face. His eyes were happy like they hadn't been in so long. Happy, but not hiding some anxiety. Probably for her same reasons. It didn't matter. Whatever fate had in store for them, they'd face it. In good or in bad. She stood up and kissed him, letting him close her tight, reassuringly.


End file.
